Childcare is the single most important issues in any working parent's life. Handing over your child, or children, to be minded, either in a creche or by a childminder, is something no parent can take lightly and while cost is an issue, it is not something parents begrudge if they are reassured their child is being cared for properly.

Childcare is the single most important issues in any working parent's life. Handing over your child, or children, to be minded, either in a creche or by a childminder, is something no parent can take lightly and while cost is an issue, it is not something parents begrudge if they are reassured their child is being cared for properly.

However, a new report on childcare costs, carried out by Indecon consultants and launched by Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald yesterday, has found that parents with two children can face a crippling annual bill of €16,500 a year for full-time childcare.

Coming out of taxed income, this is a huge drain on family finances for many people and can account for the equivalent of 30pc of a family's mortgage repayments, or 50pc of household expenditure on food.

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